Murphy grants clemency to Jersey Shore woman who burned her toddlers alive in a car

Ex-NJ Gov. Phil Murphy granted clemency to mom convicted of torching 2 toddlers to death— just hours before he left office

A New Jersey mom, Maria Montalvo, convicted of burning her two young children to death had her long prison sentence commuted by now-former Gov. Phil Murphy as he left office this week.

After Murphy, some lawmakers want limits on clemency powers

Gov. Phil Murphy hugs Jamal Muhammad, whose prison sentence he commuted in April 2025, during a news conference on Nov. 10, 2025, at Princeton University. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)A trio of Democratic lawmakers want to alter the pardon powers of New Jersey’s governors after Gov. Phil Murphy issued waves of clemencies that lifted sentences for some convicted of serious violent crimes, up to and including murder, shortly before …

Murphy grants clemency to Jersey Shore woman who burned her toddlers alive in a car

In one of his final acts before leaving office this week, former Gov. Phil Murphy granted clemency to a Jersey Shore woman who placed her two toddlers in a car, doused them with gasoline and burned them alive, clearing the…